i had a simple education. and they--they slowly kind of climbed up into the middle class, and i became interested in reading books. c-span: how did they get together? >> guest: they both worked in a school. my father was a janitor. my mother was a clerk. they tried to get married in 1952, and they weren't allowed to be married. they--it was legal for them to get married, but the state still wouldn't give them a--a marriage license. so they didn't get married till i was about eight, i think. c-span: and where did they get married? >> guest: in los angeles, finally. c-span: and it wasn't legal in california? >> guest: it was legal, but they wouldn't give them the marriage license. it was--you know, it's an interesting thing. well, it was legal, but they just didn't give it to them. they went, they applied. they said, 'well, no, i'm sorry we can't give this to you.' and they kind of fudged around, and they came again, tried--finally, they gave up. they said, 'they won't give it to us.' c-span: what impact did it